St. Paul daily globe., 1887-11-27
THE POSTAL SERVICE.
A FIattering Exhibit Made for the
Last Fiscal Year.


T WASHINGTON, Nov. 26.-The report
of the third assistant postmaster general
for the last fiscal year shows that the
total ordinary postal revenue of the
year was S4S, ,11S,273. The revenue from
money order business was SIS, 1886, max
ing total revenue of S4S, 1881, 900. The
total expenditures for the year, includ-
ing actual and estimated outstanding
liabilities. amounted to S5S, 133, ,252, show
ing deficit in the revenue of 81, 295. .643.
In addition to this there was certified to
the secretary of the treasury for credit
to the Pacific railroad companies in
their accounts with the government, be-
ing the amount earned by them in car
rying the mails, 81, 1S7 ,027. So that the
total excess of the cost of the postal
service over its revenue was
So, 1872, $40. The receipts of the year
were Ill per cent greater
than those of the previous year; the in
crease of expenditures was at ratio
of but 3.4 per cent. IL these ratios
should continue during the current year,
at is close the postal service will be
practically again on self-sustaining
basis. So heavy an increase i'll revenue,
however. says the report, is not to be
reasonably expected.
THE ESTIMATE IS
that the receipts will increase at ratio
of 9 per cent during the current year,
and at ratio of s per cent during the
next, so that by the end OF the latter the
department. revenues and expenditures
will not be wide apart. The special
delivery system has made consider
able advance during the year,
the figures indicating an increase
of probably q per cent, over the pre-
ViOuS year. Recommendations are made
in connection with the special delivery
service that investigation be started at
once to ascertain whether the pneul
matte tube system, now in successful
operation in London, Berlin and Paris,
may not be economically introduced
into the great cities of this country for
the benefit not only of special delivery
but by an enlarged system of tubing for
the transmission of all the great mails
between the postOfficeS and the various
postal and railroad stations. The total
value of all stamped paper issued by
the department during the year was
SAG, ,619.6S0, which is an increase over the
previous year of nearly per cent.
THE POSTAGE COLLECTED
on SecOnd-claSS matter during the year
was $780,, ,34S, which represents a
weight of over 63,000 tons. This is an
increase of nearly 10 per cent over the
previous year. Attention is called to
the sub agency for the distribution of
postal cards and stamped envelopes,
issued during the year at Chicago.
This agency has not only worked well,
but it has saved very considerable
amount to the government. Recon-
mendatiOn is made for two other similar
agencies at st. Louis and Atlanta. Rec
Ommendation is made that in all cases
fl.s.O ttrlh in hn fro
action of postal business pOStmaSterS be
authorized to administer them. Three
important recommendations are also
made as to the manner of collecting
postage on SecOnd-claSS matter, and as
to abuses which spring from defects in
the present law. The first of these is
that the postage on all second
class matter shall be paid
by the attachment of adhesive
stamps, as is required for all other mail
matter, the denominations running from
4 cent in the case of a single piece to
any required amount for bulk matter.
The second is that only legitimate news
papers and periodicals be admitted to
the second class rate of postage. In
other words, that certain books which it
is claimed are in no sense periodicals
except that they profess to be issued at
regular periOds-such as the numerous
series, libraries, etc, be admitted only
at the third class rate. The third is that
the number of sample copies of second
class matter to be sent out by publish
ers be limited, many periodicals, it is
stated, which under the law now gain
admittance as second class matter being
enabled by the privilege of mailing sam
pie copies to defeat the law excluding
publications issued for advertising pur-
poses, OF at a nominal price of SubScrip-
tiOn.
CLAIMS FOR LOSSES.
The report or the assistant attorney
general for the pOstOffice department,
upon claims of pOStmasterS for losses
by fire, burglary and other unavoidable
casualty and for money order funds
stolen in transit, shows that COZ claims
have been investigated and acted on
during the year. of which All were
allowed in whole or in part, and 1856
wholly disallowed. The claims allowed
aggregate S4O,60O. The amount diSal-
lowed is S11, ,213. One hundred of these
cases were of burglary, in which post
Office safes were drilled or blown open
by burglars. Attention is called to the
fact that while the general law does not
allow credit for postal funds" lost by
such casualties, yet congress at the
latest session passed number of
special acts giving the individual post
masters credit for such funds. while the
department has been compelled to dis
allow large number of smaller claims